Today, I’m participating in an anniversary party for The Romance Reviews. Along with nine other authors, I’m offering a prize to one lucky winner. Scroll down here and look for my question:
How many ex-boyfriends are possible suspects?
Answer correctly and you could win an e-book of A Season for Killing Blondes.
I’m happy to welcome author Luanna Stewart. Today, Luanna shares her favorite memories of Nova Scotia and her new release, If Wishes Were Earls.
Here’s Luanna!
In no particular order…
1. Except for this one. The number one thing I’m looking forward to with our move to Nova Scotia is returning home. I was born and raised in Halifax, the capital city, and have lived elsewhere more than half my life. It’s time to go home.
2. The Atlantic Ocean. Even though I’m currently living on the coast of Maine, and the same ocean is just a fifteen-minute drive away, it’s not quite the same.
3. The air. Laugh if you will, but the air is different in NS. Probably from a combination of the ocean and the large expanses of evergreen forests. That balsam fir smell, especially after a rain, smells like NS to me.
4. The air. Not a typo. My mum has a summer house on an island off the coast and the briny fresh smell of the air is so luscious you just want to take a bite. On many occasions I’ve stood in her back garden, closed my eyes, and just breathed.
5. Small towns. I like the intimacy. From our new hometown of Lunenburg, to Wolfville where Son1 attended college, to Malagash where my dad was born and where we vacationed when I was a kid, they all have a distinct character. I love exploring the local history, and there is always at least one good restaurant serving a local brew and fish & chips.
6. Camping. There are pictures in the old family album of me camping whilst still in diapers. (They were cloth diapers back in those days – my mum was a saint!) So it’s no wonder camping is in my blood. Hubby and I went camping on our honeymoon, backcountry, the site accessible only by canoe. Our favourite park is Kejimkujik National Park, known as Keji (pronounced KEH-gee). It’s in the middle of the province, full of lakes, rivers and streams, and once you paddle for a few hours to your campsite all you can hear are the loons announcing sunrise and the beavers chewing on lily pads. The night sky is overwhelming in its brilliance.
7. Hiking. Nova Scotia is riddled with hiking trails over all sorts of terrain. Along the coast, deep into old-growth forest, around bogs and marshes, the trails allow for all levels of difficulty.
8. Kayaking. Our new home is right on the ocean so we can push our kayaks into the water from our beach and paddle away, exploring the bays and inlets nearby. If we’re particularly adventurous we can paddle into town!
9. Music. Ah, the fiddle and the bagpipe. On street corners, in pubs, at music festivals, toe-tapping folk music is alive and well. The three biggest influences on the local folk music are Scottish, Irish, and Acadian. Any and all will make you dance in your chair.
10. Cycling. Along with the hiking trails there is a vast network of former railway lines that have been converted into hiking/cycling trails. A wonderful and safe way to explore the area. You can peddle for miles, and because the trails used to be rail lines into the various towns, you can travel into town and pop into a pub for lunch! The best part? No hills.
What are some things you particularly like about where you live? If you had to move away, what would you miss the most?
One commenter will receive a hand-knitted (by me) washcloth and a bar of handcrafted soap. (USA and Canada only.)
Tagline
A mysterious letter and an enchanted keepsake promise to lead Miranda to her heart’s desire. Or does her heart secretly yearn for more than a sexy earl?
Blurb
When a mysterious note directs Miss Miranda Large to a tiny village in Cornwall to find her heart’s desire, she has no choice but to go. An enchanted keepsake heightens her curiosity. A snowstorm forces her to accept the hospitality of a sullen, albeit sexy and handsome, earl and Miranda’s wish doesn’t seem so out of reach.
Edward Penhallion, the 12th Earl of Claverlock, is not in the mood to start his search for a new wife. He wants to be left alone with his books and his dreams of revenge. But the arrival of a headstrong, sharp-tongued spinster forces him to play the charming host. Not a difficult task, given her intelligence and beauty. Suddenly, he’s not terribly eager for her to leave.
But as the snow falls and the winds blow, Edward discovers there’s more to Miranda than a lively wit and a lovely face. And Miranda wonders if the trappings of wealth are enough for true happiness.
Buy Links
Amazon | Nook | Kobo | iBooks | All Other Retailers
Bio
Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. As soon as she discovered her grandmother’s stash of romance novels, all plots had to lead to a happily-ever-after.
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Luanna now lives in Maine with her dear husband, two college boys, and two cats. When she’s not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious.
Writing under the pen name Grace Hood, she has two novellas published with The Wild Rose Press.
Where to find Luanna…
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page
Last week, Mother Nature sent us a cold blast of winter. Confusion? Trickery? Passive aggressiveness? Or perhaps, a last hurrah to winter. But all is forgiven. Today marks a new beginning, a season of rebirth, reinvention, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, and regrowth.
Here are ten of my favorite “spring” quotes:
Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.
Sarah Ban Breathnach
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. Hal Borland
Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. Virgil A. Kraft
You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.
Pablo Neruda
Every spring is the only spring — a perpetual astonishment. Ellis Peters
Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Spring is the time of plans and projects. Leo Tolstoy
It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want — oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! Mark Twain
Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’ Robin Williams
The spring wakes us, nurtures us and revitalizes us. How often does your spring come? If you are a prisoner of the calendar, it comes once a year. If you are creating authentic power, it comes frequently, or very frequently. Gary Zukav
Do you have a favorite “spring” quote?
I’m happy to feature S.C. Mitchell’s new release.
Tag Line
An intergalactic adventure filled with laughs, love, and adventure.
Blurb
An ancient legend spanning eras, continents, and worlds. To some, it’s nothing more than a dream. To others, a pretty fairy tale handed down through the generations.
For those in critical need of their own happy ending, a gift.
Once Upon a Galaxy . . .
Zana Starchild is on a mission to restore her tribe’s livestock and save herself from one more meal of kelp. Sure, it’s technically illegal to visit Old Earth, but to a rim rat like Zana, galactic laws are really just guidelines. Her wrecked starship just means she’ll need to use her backup plan to get off the abandoned world, an old Earth legend her uncle passed down to her.
Pulled from a relaxing shower, across the galaxy to Old Earth, Galactic Marshall Kyle Kepler finds himself naked and marooned with a quirky rim rat. Zana’s broken more laws than Kyle can count, and he plans to arrest her, just as soon as he can find transport off the planet and a pair of pants.
A junk heap of a starship, a magical tree, and a roving gang of mutant kangaroos are just the beginning of rollicking intergalactic journey filled with laughs, love, and adventure.
Bio
S.C.Mitchell grew up an avid reader of comic books, science fiction and fantasy literature. He’s been writing stories for over thirty years. In 2010 he left his job as a computer desktop support specialist to pursue his passion for writing full time. He is a member of the Romance Writers of America as well as the Wisconsin chapter.
As a writer of paranormal and sci-fi romance, fantasy, and science fiction, Steve crafts unique and wondrous worlds where his characters explore, romp, and fall in love. Whether traveling through dark, demon filled dimensions, the edge of wild space, or ancient mythological heavens, his heroes and heroines, guided by their adventurous hearts, discover hidden strengths on their pathway to enduring love.
Where to find S.C. Mitchell…
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Author Page
Can you compose efficient and effective emails?
When I heard this question, my first impulse was to say, “Yes, of course.” But glancing through my in-box, I realized I wasn’t that efficient or effective. While I don’t ramble or use ambiguous language, I could improve the tone of my emails.
In her book, Playing Big, Tara Mohr devotes an entire chapter to “Communicating with Power.” She stresses the importance of identifying those “little things” that “walk the fine line of saying something without coming on too strong, but in fact they convey tentativeness, self-doubt, or worse, self-deprecation.”
Continue reading on the Sisterhood of Suspense blog.
I’m thrilled to share this cover and trailer with all of you!
Blurb
When Gilda Greco invites her closest friends to a VIP dinner, she plans to share David Korba’s signature dishes and launch their joint venture— Xenia, an innovative Greek restaurant near Sudbury, Ontario. Unknown to Gilda, David has also invited Michael Taylor, a lecherous photographer who has throughout the past three decades managed to annoy all the women in the room. One woman follows Michael to a deserted field for his midnight run and stabs him in the jugular.
Gilda’s life is awash with complications as she wrestles with a certain detective’s commitment issues and growing doubts about her risky investment in Xenia. Frustrated, Gilda launches her own investigation and uncovers decades-old secrets and resentments that have festered until they explode into untimely death. Can Gilda outwit a killer bent on killing again?
Coming Soon!
I’m happy to welcome multi-published author D.R. Grady. Today, she shares her writing journey and books.
Here’s D.R. Grady!
I knew I wanted to be a writer from the moment we learned about words and placing them together to form a sentence. Those sentences then became a paragraph, and multiple paragraphs formed a story. The magic of writing dawned on me then, and the glow hasn’t left since.
Writing for me is more about me being nosy than anything. I want to know what happens to the characters, so I sit down and start typing. Eventually, I end up with a story.
The only downside to this is that writing is a solitary process. And what did I do with these finished books? I came into possession of a writing manual that listed an organization called Romance Writers of America.
What? Had I fallen into some wonderfully mystical world?
Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers is based in Harrisburg, PA, close to me. I was certain this chapter sported lots of senator’s wives who oozed sophistication and elegance. So it took me over a year before I worked up the courage to attend my first meeting. I entered that room, and found, not one senator’s wife, but a group of women (and a few men) who were just like me.
These amazing people helped me to become a better writer, and figure out what to do with those stories. They have also become friends and a wonderful source of support. Here I am, years later, still pursuing a career in the most amazing of professions.
I’ve since self-published a couple of series and have published with Soul Mate Publishing, where I’ve met additional friends and supporters.
I love being a writer!
If you enjoy nerds (The Morrison Family Series), suspense (The Me Series), or dragons (The Dragon Chronicles), you might be interested in pursuing a relationship with my books.
Find out more here.
Blurb – The Trouble with Nerds – Coming Late March 2017
Odd things keep happening to Dr. Sara Newton. She’s a soon-to-be-unemployed pediatrician with an alleged stalker, a hot cop on her heels breathing dire warnings, and way too much student debt.
It doesn’t help that the hot cop is Clay Morrison, her best friend’s older brother. The man has made her heart pound and her palms sweaty since puberty. The trouble is, he only interacts with her when he’s expounding on new security measures. He sees threats everywhere.
Clay Morrison is frustrated. He hates his new job, misses his Army Ranger days, loves his well-meaning, pushy family—and when did sweet Sara Newton grow up? She won’t admit she has a stalker, and she won’t keep out of his thoughts. He can only protect someone in denial for so long. No matter how attractive she is…
Clay and Sara are circling each other, trying to meet in the middle. Then a brand new threat sends them in a completely different direction.
Bio and Links
D.R. Grady lives with her husband near Hershey, PA. She adores chocolate, laughing, collecting bags, books, and shoes, and writing stories that resonate with others.
Website | Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Facebook Page | Google+
Joanne Guidoccio 